Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — Translations: Prelude

As treasures that men seek,        &nbsp Deep-buried in sea-sands, Vanish if they but speak,        &nbsp And elude their eager hands, So ye escape and slip,        &nbsp O songs, and fade away, When the word is on my lip        &nbsp To interpret what ye say. Were it not better, then,        &nbsp To let the treasures rest Hid from the eyes of men,        &nbsp Locked in their iron chest? I have but marked the place,        &nbsp But half the secret told, That, following this slight trace,        &nbsp Others may find the gold.